Description: The winner of four César awards, including best
picture and director, Abdellatif Kechiche’s The Secret of
the Grain is a stirring drama about the daily joys and
struggles of a bustling French-Arab family. It has the
texture of a documentary but a classic, almost Shakespearean
structure: when patriarch Slimane acts on his wish to open a
portside restaurant specializing in his ex-wife’s couscous
and fish, the extended clan’s passions and problems explode,
leading to an engrossing, suspenseful climax. With
sensitivity and grit, The Secret of the Grain celebrates the
role food plays in family life and gets to the core of
contemporary immigrant experience.

The Film:

You don't know you want to be at a movie where a dozen French Arabs sit
around and have an early Sunday dinner until you're seated at the table
with them, listening to their stories, seeing them argue, watching them
eat couscous and fish. But in "The Secret of the Grain," three minutes
after that meal is underway I wanted someone to pass me a plate. Such is
the hold Abdel Kech-iche's thrilling family drama has.

That dinner scene and its asides (the diaper talk is epic, too) last for
what feels like a fifth of the movie, and the richness holds up for the
rest of the film. "The Secret of the Grain" takes one man, his children,
their spouses and babies, his ex-wife, his girlfriend, her daughter, and
his friends and turns it all into a masterpiece about the strange power
of food - to heal, unite, exasperate.

[

...]

This final sequence in "Secret of the
Grain" is an astounding act of storytelling, in which the delicately
constructed or seemingly throwaway details we've seen over the course of
the film return, lifting the entire enterprise into tragicomedy.
Watching one character prepare to cook an 11th-hour meal, I didn't know
whether to laugh or cry, so I did both. It's a finale that makes you
anticipate the horror, embarrassment, and recriminations of the morning
after as much as you fear them. The final shot is a masterstroke that
settles nothing. Kechiche doesn't just ascend a mountain; he jumps off a
cliff and leaves you in a state of cognitive dissonance. Your heart is
broken, but, amazingly, your pulse is through the roof.

Image : NOTE:The below
Blu-ray
captures were taken directly from the
Blu-ray
disc.

The
Secret of the Grainlooks very impressive
on
Blu-ray.
The hand-held camera is quite jittery for many sequences but
the less kinetic moments create impressionable bonding with
the characters and show incredible detail in close-ups (of
which there are plenty). It is advertised as "High-definition
digital master, approved by director Abdellatif Kechiche".
I really can find no dominant flaws - there was some very
minor noise but the grain is an even sheen across the
frame. It is not glossy and the image shows some textured
grit. Technically this is dual-layered and appears competent
in every aspect of the video transfer showcasing consistent
visuals with decent color representation and healthy contrast.
It looks exceptionally strong overall and I felt it as a
fabulous representation of how it looked at the many
festivals that it played. Criterion continue to do what they
do best...

Solid
SD-DVD image from Artificial Eye - only a step or two behind
the Criterion - it's a shade flatter but colors are well
represented. The larger that this is projected - the more
the Blu-ray will appear tighter, better depth etc.

CLICK EACH BLU-RAY
CAPTURE TO SEE ALL IMAGES IN FULL 1920X1080 RESOLUTION

More Blu-ray captures

Audio :

A strong DTS-HD 5.1 track in original French and Arabic at 3484 kbps.

The film is very dialogue driven with only the music as more dynamic
segments. There is separation but the range is subtle allowing the depth
to be more prominent. The track is flawless and the buoyancy of the
music at the end runs to a create a memorable conclusion. There are
optional English subtitles and my Momitsu
has identified it as being a region 'A'-locked
Blu-ray.

Criterion wins here
handily with the lossless audio.

Extras :

The supplements
appear to duplicate the simultaneously released DVD with only the
'timeline' feature addition exclusive to the
Blu-ray
extras but all the video pieces are in HD. It starts with a new
13-minute video interview with director Kechiche recorded exclusively
for Criterion in March of this year. He briefly discusses the narrative
- in French with optional English subtitles. Sueur is Kechiche’s
extended reedit of the climactic belly-dancing sequence, featuring a new
video introduction by the director running about 3/4 of an hour. He
discusses a new aural and video interpretation to the film's passionate
climax. There is a 20-minute interview with film scholar Ludovic Cortade,
author of
Le cinéma de l'immobilité - He discusses themes and the style of
The Secret Grain. Under the titles 20 heures - we get an
8-minutes excerpt from a French television interview with Kechiche and
actress Hafsia Herzi - subtitled in English. There are interviews as
well with Herzi (Rym) for 15-minutes, actress Bouraouïa Marzouk (11:02),
and the film’s musicians (15:17). They discuss the making of the film
and integral roles. There is a 2-minute theatrical trailer and 16-page
liner notes booklet featuring an essay by film critic Wesley Morris.

The AE DVD has a 24-minute interview and a trailer but Criterion really
advances in this area.

Criterion - Region 'A' -
Blu-ray

Artificial Eye - Region 2 - PAL

BOTTOM LINE: This isn't good storytelling... this is is great
storytelling - which is what we all, essentially, want from
cinema. The Secret of the Grain is an absolutely
gorgeous film about family, love, respect and... life. I was
very moved by my viewing and was extremely glad to have been
exposed to this gentle masterpiece. I, unusually, thought a
bit of
El Norte as I watched The Secret of the Grain - perhaps because of my ignorance of both before putting the
respective discs in the player and the strongly positive
reaction that both exported. The Criterion
Blu-ray meets their incredibly high standards for the medium in terms of
video/audio and supplements and you may purchase with a high
degree of confidence. This film and transfer are highly
recommended!

As Per-Olaf says "For those of you that don't own a
Region "A" Blu-ray player, Artificial Eye (UK) gives
Couscous aka The Secret of the Grain in a strong DVD. The
master seems to be the same that Criterion has used."

Agreed. The Criterion is the definitive way to view in your home
theater but the AE, released last year, is a reasonable
replacement.

Gary Tooze

July 19th, 2010

About the Reviewer:
Hello, fellow Beavers! I have been interested in film
since I viewed a Chaplin festival on PBS when I was
around 9 years old. I credit DVD with expanding my
horizons to fill an almost ravenous desire to seek out
new film experiences. I currently own approximately 9500
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discussion Listserv for furthering my film
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Plus a healthy thanks to those who donate and use our
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Although I never wanted to become one of those guys who
focused 'too much' on image and sound quality - I
find HD is swiftly pushing me in that direction. So be
it, but film will always be my first love and I list my
favorites on the old YMdb site now accessible
HERE.